CSArt Ottawa

In 2019-2020, CSArt Ottawa is all about re-imagining. We’re looking at our successes of the past, reaching out to organizations who share a similar vision for local arts, and finding the best place for CSArt in the Ottawa arts ecology.

As a part of that journey, this year we’re partnering with the Ottawa Arts Council by curating and hosting their On View events. This year’s On View events are generously sponsored by Logan Katz LLP, and feature local artists. 

Our first On View happened last Saturday, featuring the incredible dancers of The Flava Factory, Ottawa’s only dance studio devoted to urban styles. 

The first performance of the evening was by three of The Flava Factory’s excellent instructors, Vanessa ‘V Love’ Lovell, Christian ‘Cee’ Ancheta, and Armel Mzalina (for more on them check out my interview blog with Vanessa Lovell). We knew these professional dancers would put on a great show, and they did.

But as with all CSArt events, the unexpected makes the night. The Flava Factory wanted to bring their Youth Crews to perform as part of the evening, and we thought it was a great idea to give these youth aged 9 to 17 an opportunity to perform and to make this event intergenerational. We were expecting some cute performances. 

But when these kids took the stage? The crowd. Went. Wild. 

These youth are incredibly talented performers, and demonstrated that The Flava Factory really is amazing: the studio not only teaches all age groups, but is creating a beautiful community of young dancers, bringing urban dance to the next generation. 

We had an amazing time talking with V Love, Cee, and Armel about their work, and sharing the work of the Ottawa Arts Council with the CSArt community. It was also fantastic to hear from Wilson Li from Logan Katz LLP when he spoke from the heart about the importance of supporting local arts.

And the best moment to cap off the evening? Wilson getting a Popping tutorial from The Flava Factory youth crews. 

We are grateful to the Ottawa Arts Council for this opportunity to bring different communities together to create something beautiful. At the end of the evening, audience members donated $305 to subsidize youth tuition to The Flava Factory for those that need it.

We’re excited about the possibilities of this partnership with the Council as CSArt Ottawa continues to plan for the future. Sign up to our newsletter to get in to our next On View event in March 2020.

-Megan